General

STEMester of Service YSA Grants (Deadline Extended: August 15)
YSA is seeking middle schools with large populations of disadvantaged youth in the 19 states with highest dropout rates (AK, AZ, CA, CO, DE, DC, GA, HI, IL, LA, MI, MT, NV, NM, NY, NC, RI, WA, WY). Grantees will engage students in a STEMester of Service addressing critical environmental and disaster preparedness needs and connecting them to STEM curricula. The $5,000 grant supports sustainable service projects that launch on MLK Day of Service (January 16, 2012) and culminate on GYSD (April 20-22, 2012). Please visit www.YSA.org/grants/stemester for more information.

Funding Available for Forest and Water Climate Adaptation Plans (Deadline: September 19, 2011)
The Model Forest Policy Program (MFPP) is now accepting applications for 2012 Climate Solutions University: Forest and Water Strategies (CSU). This program offers rural U.S. [only] communities the opportunity to be part of climate adaptation solutions urgently needed across the country. This educational opportunity is being conducted in collaboration with the Cumberland River Compact. Local communities are on the front line making key land use decisions in regards to climate change. Through a peer learning network that links underserved rural communities across the U.S., Climate Solutions University (CSU) provides training, expertise, and support to communities engaged in climate adaptation planning.Climate Solutions University (CSU) helps rural communities design and implement climate adaptation plans that protect local forest and water resources and support viable rural economies. CSU strengthens local leadership and public engagement and promotes the following outcomes: protection of forests, streams, human and ecological health; preservation of natural resource based economies; and builds broad public support. Each community develops and implements a Forest and Water Climate Adaptation Plan and Case Study by participating in a four-step multi-year process.Scholarships Available: Six communities will be provided $10,000 scholarships.Application Deadline: 5:00 PM PST, Monday, September 19, 2011Apply Now: www.mfpp.org

The following grant opportunities are listed on the Baton Rouge Area Foundation’s website.
Eligible applicants are 501(c)3s from East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, West Feliciana, Ascension, Livingston, Iberville, Pointe Coupee parishes.

Community Coffee Fund {DOWNLOAD PDF}
A corporate Donor Advised Field of Interest Fund of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, the Community Coffee Fund seeks to support innovative programs that will measurably improve the results of pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade education.Grant Range: $5,000 to $25,000Application Deadlines: March 15, Sept. 15Notification Dates: June 1, Dec 1

GOMF-NOAA Community-based Restoration Program Funding Opportunity (Deadline: September 15)
The Gulf of Mexico Community-based Restoration Partnership (GCRP) with NOAA's Restoration Center has released the 2011 RFP to fund on-the-ground projects to restore marine, estuarine, and riparian habitats to benefit living marine resources and to provide educational and social benefits by significantly involving the community. Due date for the proposal is September 15, 2011. Project funding levels typically fall within the range of $50,000-$100,000. Please see the attached RFP. For questions or project ideas, please contact: Meg Goecker, NOAA Restoration Center at 251-243-2200 (cell), 251-861-2141 ext7509 (office) or via email, meg.goecker@noaa.gov.

EVENTS

Coastal Restoration and Protection Forum (August 12)
You’re invited to the coastal restoration and protection forum taking place on Friday, August 12, from 10am-4pm at the Rev. Percy M. Griffin Community Center, 15511 Hwy 15, Davant, LA 70040 (east bank of Plaquemines Parish). Registration & Breakfast 9 AM. This event, “Getting the Water Right, Getting the Jobs Right” will address coastal restoration in terms of local, state, and federal policy, job creation, and the project planning and implementation process. The goal is to share information, updates, and an array of perspectives on these issues in order to help local stakeholders effectively engage in coastal restoration and protection. For more information, call (504) 279-5720.

Save the Date for T.R.E.E.’s 25th Anniversary Fundraiser Banquet (August 25)
T.R.E.E. is celebrating 25 years of serving students, schools and the community. We want to give you the opportunity to help us plant for the next 25 years. Please join us as we celebrate on this very special night. Thursday, August 25th from 7:00pm–11:00pm at The New Orleans Board of Trade – 316 Board of Trade Place, New Orleans, LA 70130 (faces Magazine St.). Cost: $35 per person. Please RSVP by August 12, 2011 by calling the T.R.E.E. office at 504-525-9020 or email at tree@treetalk.org. Leave your name, the number of guests attending and a daytime phone number. We will call you back to confirm and with payment instructions.

K-12 OPPORTUNITIES

The Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON) is now scheduling K-12 field trips for the 2011-2012 school year!
LUMCON's primary facilities are located at the DeFelice Marine Center in Cocodrie, approximately 85 miles southwest of New Orleans. This location, situated within the estuarine wetland complex of the Mississippi River delta plain between the Atchafalaya and Mississippi Rivers, provides ready access to the most productive estuaries in the United States, to a variety of coastal environments, and to the open Gulf of Mexico. This unique location provides excellent opportunities for students to learn through first-hand meaningful experiences about Louisiana’s coastal environments.
LUMCON’s K-12 program staff members specialize in working groups from the pre-K through 12th grade level. All activities and experiences can be modified to match the needs and interests of any group. Popular activities include: brackish water pond sampling, Bayouside Classroom water quality sampling, salt marsh canoeing (must be 12 years or older; limit 20), plankton laboratory, fish or invertebrate anatomy laboratory, educational cruises of bay and salt marsh environments (must be 12 years or older; limit 25), guided tours of the marine center
To request field trip dates or to obtain more detailed information about group activities contact Murt Conover, Marine Education Associate; (985) 851-2860 or mconover@lumcon.edu. Hurry, available dates fill up fast! Dates are limited.

4-H Youth Energy Program (YEP)
The 4-H Youth Energy Program (YEP) is a statewide school enrichment program designed to educate youth on the benefits of energy efficiency and renewable energy. The program focuses on ninth grade students but includes all of high school and middle school youth in experiential learning activities and projects that will work to encourage and challenge youth. As part of the program, energy-related curriculum guides and hands-on activity kits have been developed and will be housed in each parish 4-H extension office throughout the state.
Each kit includes equipment for conducting class experiments that cover many topics, including: General energy lessons, Solar energy, Wind energy, Hydropower, Fossil fuels, and Biomass.
Educators are required to attend a training that takes them through the basics of the kit and introduces program lessons that are tied to Louisiana GLE’s and can be easily utilized in their classrooms. All educators that participate in the program will have access to the activity kits and will receive a $300 stipend for participating in the training. The following training dates are currently scheduled: August 27, 2011 - Baton Rouge, September 24, 2011 - New Orleans, September 24, 2011 - Lafayette, and October 29, 2011 - Monroe. To register visit: http://www.eventbrite.com/directory?q=Youth+Energy+&loc=Louisiana&page=1. Additional training dates will be scheduled in Alexandria and Lake Charles this fall and can be found online at www.lsuagcenter.com/yep. Interested teachers can contact Caleb Persick at cpersick@agcenter.lsu.edu or by phone at 225-578-2196 for additional information.

LAGNIAPPE

Wasting Water is Weird
WaterSense partners Kohler and Lowes have launched a new public service campaign called Wasting Water is Weird. The campaign features tips from the WaterSense program and links to the website for additional water-saving information. It’s a positive, humorous message delivered by Rip the Drip, who shows up just when using water becomes wasting water and that’s when things get weird. You can like Rip the Drip on Facebook, follow him on Twitter @RipTheDrip or visit www.wastingwaterisweird.com.EPA Launches Revamped Sustainable Water Infrastructure Web Pages
With the release of the Wastewater and Drinking Water Infrastructure Sustainability Policy last fall, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took the next step in our efforts to work with the water sector as it moves towards more sustainable practices. This week, the Agency has launched an enhanced set of web pages to provide information and resources for meeting the water infrastructure challenges faced in communities across the country. The pages provide information, resources, and materials designed to meet the needs of local officials committed to leaving a legacy of sustainable water infrastructure. It provides information that every local official should know about their community’s water infrastructure and offers concrete, achievable steps that local officials can take to put their community on a more sustainable path or enhance existing efforts to address their water infrastructure needs.
To review EPA’s revamped sustainable infrastructure web pages, please visit: http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/sustain/index.cfm
To view the local officials’ section, please visit: http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/sustain/localofficials.cfm

Volunteers Needed: Elmer’s Island Summer Beach Sweep – August 18th 8am -1pm
Elmer’s Island Refuge is a barrier island located in Jefferson Parish southwest of Grand Isle, Louisiana bordered by LA 1 and the Gulf of Mexico. The area includes a tidal zone, natural and restored dunes, and an expanse of open area leading to the Back Bay. There are no buildings or facilities on the island, and any visitors are required to carry out everything they bring onto the property. It will be extremely hot and there will be limited shade. Elmer’s Island is remote; the Back Bay area is very wet and muddy. Bring sunscreen, bug spray, and a smile! Lunch, water, and gloves will be provided. For more information please contact Julia Lightner, at jlightner@wlf.la.gov or 504-913-7849.

Aug. 10, 2011-- With hunting season less than a month away, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) reminds the public that there is still time available to obtain hunter education certification.

Anyone born on or after Sept. 1, 1969, is required to have successfully completed a hunter education course to hunt in the state of Louisiana, unless they are under the direct supervision of someone over 18 years old that has a valid hunting license or proof of completion of a hunter education course. Hunter education courses cover firearms safety, general outdoors safety and the principals of wildlife management. To locate hunter education course information, connect to the LDWF web site at http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/hunting/hunter-education .

Hunters have two options for hunter education certification: register for and attend the 10-hour classroom course, which is usually conducted over 2-3 days, or chose the home study option. With the home study option, the user will study the course material either on-line or via CD-ROM and attend a mandatory field day. Both methods will provide the student with the required hunter education certification once a written test is passed at the end of the classroom course or field day. However, the home study option is recommended for students 14 years of age or older. There is no minimum age for attending a hunter education class, but a person must be at least 10 years old to receive hunter education certification.

Hunters who have already received their hunter education certification should verify that their hunter education card is available and in their possession prior to their first hunting trip. If a duplicate card is needed, an application may be completed on-line at http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/hunting/hunter-education. A temporary duplicate card can be printed immediately and there is no fee for a duplicate hunter education card.

Hunters planning out of state hunts should consult the hunter education requirements for the states they plan to visit. Requirements differ from state to state, but a Louisiana hunter education certification is valid in all states.

The next regular Advisory Board meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 10, 2011 at 9:30 a.m. at the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries headquarters located at 2000 Quail Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70808

Aug. 8, 2011-- The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) is now seeking fields to lease from private landowners for the Sept. 3 opening of the 2011-12 dove season.

Since 1994, LDWF has leased fields for public hunting access on the opening day of dove season. Suitable fields are recently harvested grain fields or freshly cut pastures that are 75 acres or larger. The fields should also be attracting large numbers of doves.

Lease payments vary based on the size of the field and range from $750 for a 75-acre field to $2,000 for fields over 500 acres. The fields will be open to public dove hunting on Sept. 3 only and LDWF personnel will be present at the field to issue permits and monitor the hunt. Hunters 16 years of age and older are charged $10 to hunt, while hunters 15 years of age and younger hunt for free.

Landowners seeking more information about the dove field lease program can contact Jeff Duguay at 225-765-2353 or jduguay@wlf.la.gov.

In 2010, LDWF initiated a 10-year management and research plan that includes: varying water-level management from traditional dates; bush-hogging and haying in designated locations to inhibit growth of encroaching swamp privet and water elm; herbicide application to kill smaller trees; active removal of stands of larger trees; and establishment ofmonitoring plots to evaluate the effects of various management activities on the vegetative community on the lake bed.

The ultimate goal is to identify management practices or combinations of management activities that reduce woody encroachment while maintaining or improving waterfowl food production.

Along with the experimental management plan, LDWF will also discuss: the upcoming opportunity for hay leases on the lakebed; recently approved changes in the East Zone waterfowl hunting season dates; proposed changes to zones used for waterfowl hunting in Louisiana; upcoming surveys to assess hunter satisfaction with past waterfowl hunting zones, splits, and season dates; and opinions on potential changes to those regulations in the future.

Aug. 5, 2011– The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF), CCA-Louisiana and Cabela’s teamed up to present a Women’s Weekend Fishing Workshop on Sunday, July 24 at the Cabela’s Gonzales location.

The next scheduled Women’s Weekend Workshop featuring “Hunting Basics” is scheduled for Oct. 22 at the Waddill Outdoor Education Center in Baton Rouge. Due to limitations on space available, anyone interested should contact Karen C. Edwards at (318) 766-8144 or kedwards@wlf.la.gov for more information.

The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is charged with managing and protecting Louisiana's abundant natural resources. For more information, visit us at www.wlf.louisiana.gov on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ldwffb or follow us on Twitter @LDWF.

Aug. 5, 2011-- The Louisiana Outdoor Writers Association (LOWA) and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) will recognize the two 2010 Youth Hunters of the Year at the 2011 LOWA Conference Awards Banquet in Houma on Aug. 6.

Thirteen-year-old Megan Boles of Provencal was selected as the 2010 Female Youth Hunter of the Year and 12-year-old Ben Broussard of Sulphur was selected as the 2010 Male Youth Hunter of the Year.Both young hunters submitted a story about their 2010-11 hunting season experience along with photographs of the hunt. LOWA and LDWF then selected the winners.

The Youth Hunter of the Year Program is part of the Louisiana Youth Hunter Registry Program that was initiated several years ago by both LOWA and LDWF to recognize the state’s youth hunters and encourage them to keep the hunting tradition alive in Louisiana. In addition to being recognized as the Youth Hunters of the Year, Megan and Ben received gift certificates from Bowie Outfitters in Baton Rouge. The other participants in the program received certificates recognizing their hunting achievements during the 2010 season and one individual will be selected by random drawing to receive a gift certificate from Bowie Outfitters.

Megan is the daughter of Charles and Kelly Boles and has grown up hunting with her dad. While she had hunted deer prior to the 2010 deer season, she had never bagged one with a muzzleloader. During the 2010 primitive firearm season, she harvested her first buck with a muzzleloader rifle on an afternoon hunt with her dad. Megan wrote that her dad has taught her all the safety tips and rules for hunting with a gun and even though she normally hunts with her .243 she was very comfortable with a “smoke pole” in her hands. She made a great 80-yard shoulder shot on a nice 8-pointer. Megan is also a successful turkey hunter and enjoys hunting with her dad, an accomplished turkey hunter. Megan said her dad “puts the turkeys to sleep on the roost and wakes them up in the mornings.” Megan loves to hunt with both mom and dad and has enough hunting savvy to hunt alone.

The Louisiana Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) is one of the sponsors of the Youth Hunters Program and Luke Lewis, regional biologist with the NWTF said, “The Louisiana Chapter is glad to support LOWA and LDWF with the Youth Hunter of the Year Program. Megan comes from a family that lives the outdoor lifestyle, with a mother and father who have dedicated their careers to conservation with the US Forest Service on the Kisatchie Ranger District. Both of them have been a big part of providing Megan with an appreciation for nature and the outdoors. On behalf of our 6,400 members of the LA Chapter, and our state board of directors, we congratulate Megan and know she will develop into a young conservationist with the appreciation of being a good steward of the land and its resources.”

Ben Broussard is the son of Jeanne and James Ed Broussard and made his first duck hunt with his dad during the 2010 Thanksgiving holidays. In his story, Ben also wrote about his dad and how safety conscious he was during the hunt. Bently, their black lab, shared the blind with the two hunters and did the work of retrieving the ducks. Ben killed a green wing teal with his first shot and later bagged a widgeon drake as it hovered over the spinning decoy. It was a great day for young Ben, his dad and Bently; the hunters brought home nine ducks, but more importantly, as Ben wrote, memories of a day he will never forget.

This is the first time that a duck hunter has been selected as the Youth Hunter of the Year and Ben has broken new ground for the program and hopefully will promote participation by other youth waterfowl hunters.

The Baton Rouge Chapter of Delta Waterfowl has been a sponsor of the program since day one. Jonathan Walker, chapter president, congratulated Ben on his achievement saying, “Ben represents the future of this sport in our great state of Louisiana.” He added, “Delta Waterfowl’s mission has always been to secure the future of waterfowl and waterfowl hunting and the BR Chapter is proud to have a part in this important program and supporting the next generation of hunters.”

LOWA and LDWF jointly recognize the important sponsorship support for the program provided by: The Bayou State Bowhunters Association, the South LA Branch of the Quality Deer Management Association, Bowie Outfitters in Baton Rouge, the Louisiana Wildlife Federation and Andrew Harrison with Harrison Law, LLC.

“Programs such as this could not be possible without the support of these organizations and individuals,” said Kenny Ribbeck, chief of the LDWF’s Wildlife Division. “Attracting youth to the sport of hunting has taken greater emphasis in our agency over the past decade as hunter numbers declined. Along with the Youth Hunter Registry Program, LDWF is currently launching a new program, the Louisiana Hunting Heritage Program, aimed at introducing the sport of hunting to any age individual through mentors. We will continue to provide these programs to insure that the rich hunting heritage in Louisiana continues.”

August 4, 2011 – Today the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission passed a motion amending the rules by which Oyster Harvester Permits are issued for Lake Calcasieu. As required by Act 329 of the 2011 Louisiana Legislative Session, anyone seeking to commercially harvest oysters in Lake Calcasieu must have one of 126 special Oyster Harvester Permits issued by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

Of the 126 permits available, 63 will be issued exclusively to eligible fishermen who have historically harvested in Lake Calcasieu since January 1, 2001. The remaining 63 permits will be issued to any person who is otherwise eligible.

Permits will be valid for a period of one year beginning October 1, of a given year and ending September 30, of the following year. Applicants are required to hold a current and valid commercial fishing license and oyster harvester license.

Applications for permits will be available exclusively online on the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries website (www.wlf.louisiana.gov). Permits will be issued on a first-come-first-serve basis, determined by the order in which completed applications are submitted through the LDWF website. Online submission is the ONLY acceptable method to submit completed applications.

Applications will be available beginning Monday, September 26, 2011, at 9 a.m. Harvesters will be required to reapply on the last Monday of September each year following.

A completed application consists of the following information: applicant’s name, physical and mailing address, phone number, commercial license number, oyster harvester license number and personal identification number issued by a state or federal agency (i.e., driver’s license or passport).

Aug. 4, 2011 -- The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission (LWFC) voted to tentatively adopt proposed season dates, bag limits and shooting hours for the 2011-12 migratory waterfowl season at their Aug. 4 meeting. The dates will be ratified by a declaration of emergency from the commission, after approval from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Following a comment period that began after the July commission meeting, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) recommended a 60-day season for ducks, coots and mergansers. In the West Zone, the first segment will open on Nov. 12 and close on Dec. 4. The second segment will open on Dec. 17 and run through Jan. 22. In the East Zone, the first segment will go from Nov. 19 to 27. The second segment will last from Dec. 10 to Jan. 29.

A proposal to move the Youth waterfowl weekend to the weekend during the splits was revised by LDWF based on a majority of public comments received. Those comments favored keeping that weekend opportunity for youth prior to the season opening dates in both zones. The revised Youth waterfowl weekend dates proposed by the department and adopted by the commission are Nov. 5-6 in the West Zone and Nov. 12-13 in the East Zone.

The daily bag limit on ducks is six and may include no more than four mallards (no more than two of which may be females), two pintails, one canvasback, one mottled duck, one black duck, three wood ducks, two scaup and two redheads.

The daily bag limit on coots is 15. The daily bag limit for mergansers is five, of which only two may be hooded mergansers. The merganser limits are in addition to the daily bag limit for ducks.

The possession limit on ducks, coots and mergansers is twice the daily bag limit.

Light geese and white-fronted geese will have a 74-day season. The first segment in the West Zone will open on Nov. 12 and close on Dec. 4. The second segment in the West Zone will run from Dec. 17 to Feb. 5. The first segment in the East Zone will open on Nov. 5 and run until Nov. 27. The second segment will run from Dec. 10 to Jan. 29. The daily bag limit on light geese is 20, with no possession limit. The daily limit on white-fronted geese is two, with a possession limit of four. When the Canada goose season is open, the limit is two dark geese (white-fronted and Canada) of which no more than one can be a Canada goose.

The Canada goose season will be 44 days and run from Dec. 17 to Jan. 29 statewide, except for a small closure area in southwest Louisiana. The daily limit for Canada geese is one in aggregate with white-fronted geese and the possession limit is two in aggregate with white-fronted geese. So the daily bag limit will allow two dark geese (white-fronted and Canada geese), no more than one of which may be a Canada goose.

The Statewide Conservation Order for light geese will open in the West Zone on Dec. 5, and the first segment will close on Dec. 16. The second segment in the West Zone will run from Feb. 6 to March 11. The first segment in the East Zone will run from Nov. 28 to Dec. 9, and the second segment will be from Jan. 30 to March 11. During this time, only snow, blue and Ross geese may be taken and daily bag and possession limits are eliminated. The use of electronic calls and unplugged shotguns is permitted. Shooting hours during the Conservation Order begin one-half hour before sunrise and extend until one-half hour after sunset.

Rails may be taken from Sept. 10 to 25 and again from Nov. 12 to Jan. 4. For King and Clapper rails, the daily limit is 15 in the aggregate with a possession limit of 30. Sora and Virginia rails have a daily and possession limit of 25 in the aggregate.

Gallinule season will be open from Sept. 10 to 25 and again from Nov. 12 to Jan. 4. The daily bag limit is 15 with a possession limit of 30.

Snipe may be taken in the West Zone first segment from Nov. 5 to Dec. 7 and from Dec. 17 to Feb. 28 in the second segment. In the East Zone, the first segment will run from Nov. 5 to 30 with a second segment running Dec. 10 to Feb. 28. The daily bag limit is 8 and the possession limit is 16.

An extended falconry season for ducks, rails and gallinules will take place from Nov. 5 to Feb. 3.